The Sea Mimics the Sky
by Bonhwa
Summary: Occasionally, Zoro is not a jerk and Sanji is not a love-sick fool, and they get along just fine.  Zoro   Sanji interaction. A short, simple oneshot about a peaceful conversation between them, on a calming day.


**Title: ****The Sea Mimics the Sky [ alt: Days Like This ]****  
****Fandom: ****One Piece****  
****Rating:****ABSOLUTELY GEN****  
****Pairing: ****Zoro + Sanji interaction****  
****Summary:****Occasionally, Zoro is not a jerk and Sanji is not a love-sick fool, and they get along just fine.**

Occasionally, the cook is not a flirty idiot salivating after everything with a rack and nice legs.

Occasionally, the swordsman is not a stone-faced jerk whose vocabulary can be summarized in a single noun; booze.

And so, occasionally, they have days like_ this._

Days when the sea mimics the sky; endless, calm, and blue, and the sun burns with just the right amount of warmth, and the wind blows with a balmy gentleness, pushing at the sails.

Days when Zoro could be Zoro, and Sanji could be Sanji, without pissing the hell out of each other.

On days like this, Zoro suns himself on the deck. The wood is warm beneath his back. His swords are tucked beside him. His eyes are closed, but he is not asleep. His skin soaks in the rays of the sun, his ears listen for the sea, and his nose prickles with the smell of salt and fish and…

_Cook._

Cook smells like sweat and cigarettes and lemon and mint.

_So he just came from the kitchen._

Zoro hears the sound of leather shoes, they go _click, click,_ and then they stop, somewhere in close proximity to him. The sun behind his closed eyelids appears to eclipse, and Zoro feels the chill of glass on his forehead.

"Afternoon snack. Sweetened grass jelly soaked in honey. Everyone else had theirs, so drink up before the ice melts and dilutes the taste."

Zoro opens his eyes to the sight of Sanji, the clouds, and the sky, staring down at him. He reaches for the glass on his forehead. His palm instantly cools, a strange contrast from the warmth of the sun on the back of his hand.

"Thanks," he says, as he pulls himself up to drink.

Sanji mumbles something in reply, and settles down beside Zoro.

Because, occasionally, there are days like this, Zoro makes no comment, and scoots over to make space for Sanji. Neither felt like exchanging snide remarks, or volleying insults, or going at each other's throats.

All was quiet.

Zoro drank, and Sanji smoked.

Sanji randomly commented on his ability to make smoke rings.

Zoro asked him to demonstrate. ( "Unless I see it, it didn't happen.")

Sanji did. (" Damn right, I'll show you.")

He managed ten O-loops ( Zoro counted ) before choking.

Zoro laughed, a small one, but still. Sanji laughed along.

Then Sanji mentioned All Blue, and Zoro noted the way his eyes lit up.

"There's the yellow spotted horned fish, which I really wanna see- and then there's the electric blue lobster, almost the size of an adult man, which I hear makes a mean _Bouillabaise_, because it's so succulent when stewed….."

Because Zoro didn't quite know what to say, he listened.

At some point, Sanji realized that he's doing all the talking, and asked about Zoro instead.

"Oi, marimo- tell me about this Kuina girl you once mentioned to Luffy."

Zoro started out with reluctance and unfinished sentences, but soon found himself talking openly about his childhood friend, and the things they used to do together.

This time, it was Sanji's turn to listen, and he does, noting the way Zoro's eyes seemed to glaze over with sadness and longing, of something lost a long, long time ago.

When Zoro was finished, Sanji asked if Kuina was pretty.

Zoro goes a shade pinker, and Sanji knew that Zoro thought she was.

Then it was quiet again.

Zoro and Sanji sat side by side, not moving, not talking, not fighting.

In their silence, they understood that occasionally, and _only _occasionally, two people as diverse as a cook and a swordsman could come together, and genuinely enjoy each other's company; from man to man, from comrade to comrade, from dreamer to dreamer.

Neither wanted to spoil that moment, because both knew that by tomorrow, or probably by tonight, they would be back to Zoro and Sanji of the polarizing kind; exchanging snide remarks, volleying insults, or going at each other's throats. As usual.

So occasionally, days like this are good.  
The ship continued to sail, the sun continued to shine, and the sea remained a calming blue.

_Yeah, occasionally, this is good._

Zoro finishes his drink, but Sanji doesn't leave.

**-end-**

**A/Note:****  
**Zoro and Sanji are always represented as this snarking, argumentative pair- which is not wrong, because 99% of the time, they are, ( and I enjoy their ridiculous snarking very much ;'D ), but I also enjoy moments where they do get along peacefully ! I am watching the Skypiea Arc now, and there was a scene where Sanji asked Zoro to help him, ( it turns out Sanji wanted to use Zoro's swords to generate heat for cooking), and another one where it is implied they went to collect firewood together. I wondered how OOC it would be if you removed the polarizing aspect of their interaction- so I tried to write this. I hope it's alright.

Thank you for reading !  
_  
_**_Grass Jelly - a black, cube-like jelly which is usually taken with sugared water, or added in soya. In Malaysia, we call it "cincau", and it's very refreshing as a drink, especially on a hot day. _**

**_Bouillabaise- French seafood stew_**_**  
**_


End file.
